The House Appropriations Committee today approved the fiscal year 2012 Transportation, Housing and Urban Development Appropriations bill, which provides annual funding for the Department of Transportation (DOT), the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), and other related agencies.

In total, the bill includes $55.15 billion in discretionary spending – a reduction of $19.8 billion below the President’s request and $217 million below last year’s level. The funding level in this bill reflects the overall fiscal year 2012 discretionary spending total of $1.043 trillion to which the House, Senate, and White House agreed in the recent debt ceiling legislation.

“This bill is yet another example of this Committee’s commitment to return our government to some semblance of fiscal sanity by restoring responsibility, restraint and thoughtfulness to the budgeting process. I’m proud that this subcommittee has made targeted and responsible cuts, rooting out extraneous and duplicative programs, while prioritizing critical programs which ensure that our highways keep moving, our airways remain safe, and our Nation’s most vulnerable citizens have access to the necessary safety nets as we approach the winter months,” House Appropriations Chairman Hal Rogers said.

“With this bill, we were able to meet a number of priorities – preserve the funding for every person and family currently receiving an assisted housing benefit; maintain our investments in aviation and other transportation and safety systems; continue community development programs; and improve the oversight and transparency of taxpayer dollars while setting priorities and reducing spending,” Subcommittee Chairman Tom Latham said.

For the subcommittee draft text of the legislation, please visit: http://appropriations.house.gov/UploadedFiles/12THUD_xml.pdf

For a table comparing the draft legislation with the President’s request and the fiscal year 2011 levels, please visit: http://appropriations.house.gov/UploadedFiles/9.7.11_THUD_Subcommittee_Draft_Summary_Table.pdf

Summaries of amendments adopted at the Subcommittee markup:

Subcommittee Chairman Latham (R-IA) – The manager’s amendment made technical changes to the bill. The amendment was adopted on a voice vote.

Ranking Member Dicks (D-WA) – The amendment would increase the Fair Housing program by $21.9 million, offset by a cut to the HUD Working Capital Fund. The amendment was adopted on a voice vote.

Rep. Dent (R-PA) – The amendment would prohibit funding to enforce requirements listed in the Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices pertaining to sign retroreflectivity and minimum letter heights for state and local street signs. The amendment passed on a voice vote.

Rep. Carter (R-TX) – The amendment would include fuel costs as a “capital maintenance” item for the purposes of qualification for Transit Formula and Bus grants. The amendment was adopted on a voice vote.

Rep. Dent (R-PA) – The amendment would require a report by the Comptroller General related to the state use of “flex funds” between Highway and Transit accounts. The amendment was adopted on a voice vote.

Rep. Pastor (D-AZ) – The amendment would change a restriction on funding for Native American Housing Block Grants from going to tribes with more than $10 million in previous unexpended funds, to those tribes with more that $20 million in previous unexpended funds. The amendment was adopted on a voice vote.

Rep. Kaptur (D-OH) – The amendment would provide $2.68 million for the Interagency Council on Homelessness, offset by a cut to the HUD Working Capital Fund. The amendment was adopted on a voice vote.

Rep. Price (D-NC) – The amendment would require HUD to seek Congressional approval before offsetting public housing agency reserves for fiscal year 2012. The amendment was adopted on a voice vote.

Rep. Olver (D-MA) – The amendment would give the Chairman of the Amtrak Board waiver authority for new rules related to overtime pay. The amendment was adopted on a voice vote.

Final Passage The legislation was approved by the Subcommittee on a voice vote.